[Sennen]

Originally Posted by JayR328i

Does anyone else think that in 6-12 months time a load of these bikes that have sold out everywhere will be listed on ebay or stolen and put on gumtree? There may be some deals to be had as we see the novelty wear off for a lot of lockdown adopters.

It would be fantastic if there was a lasting legacy of more cycling from this year of bs, but I just don't see the investment from either the local councils or people not on bikes sharing the roads sensibly. Plus the huge mop up that the economy will require will mean budgets for infrastructure won't be there.

I suspect the novelty will wear off over the winter.

It is great that people are getting active but I do wonder at the sense of 50 plus overweight men getting on a road bike with tiny section tyres when their last cycling experience was with a Raleigh Chopper.

I went round to see my wifes sister a couple of weeks ago and her husband was showing me this whizz bang 'racing bike' he had acquired for a couple of grand.......... I had a call from her over the weekend and he has apparently come off the thing and ended up in hospital with various cuts grazes and a lost tooth.

Luckily not too serious, but it sounds like it easily could have been.

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by Sennen

I suspect the novelty will wear off over the winter.

It is great that people are getting active but I do wonder at the sense of 50 plus overweight men getting on a road bike with tiny section tyres when their last cycling experience was with a Raleigh Chopper.

I went round to see my wifes sister a couple of weeks ago and her husband was showing me this whizz bang 'racing bike' he had acquired for a couple of grand.......... I had a call from her over the weekend and he has apparently come off the thing and ended up in hospital with various cuts grazes and a lost tooth.

Luckily not too serious, but it sounds like it easily could have been.

I've already noticed a few high end bikes appearing on gumtree. I think more will appear as the novelty wears off.

Could be some good deals to be had!

[JR1664]

It was like the perfect storm but in a good way. Lockdown but cycling allowed, quiet roads and some brilliant weather in April / May. I've never seen so many cyclists on UK roads but its been diminishing as expected.

The crunch will come when the clocks change and the weather worsens. For newbies the cold weather will hit hard as will require a wardrobe change and chances to fit in a ride in decent weather will diminish.

Fitness and physicality wise I can Imagine a few will have binned it due to Injuries. Some people won't even try to get over saddle sore. We have friends who bought bikes months ago and have just looked at them. When lockdown started the amount of seriously over weight people who took up jogging was an eye opener, how many jacked it in due shin splits, knee, achilles Injuries etc. Indeed where have all the new found joggers gone ?

Our Council have closed a load of roads to create traffic free zones to encourage cycling. Unfortunately its causing massive congestion, it was simply a kneejerk reaction without any consultation. The dedicated commuting cycle routes were already there, not brilliant but really well used. Shutting roads has actually caused protests from residents and a whole tirade of criticism aimed at cyclists (who don't even use these new routes).

[gangzoom]

Still plenty of weekend cyclists around, I over took quite a few last week on very fancy bike doing 15mph on the flat.

I hardly see anyone commuting to work on the bike though, even most eBikes appear to be weekend toys rather than commuter tools at which they excel.

I'm holding off spending ££££ on a new road bike at present as I'm also hoping there will be some cheap bargains next year due to oversupply/people wanting to sell unused bikes.

[JayR328i]

@Sennen hope he's ok and not too shaken up.

[BBri89]

Yeah the local Covid pop-up cycle lanes around here are completely empty, and borderline dangerous.

All it's done is confuse everyone with the layout, have opposite-direction cars driving much closer to each other, and in places it's not enough width for two buses/lorries without the cones being hit.

Particularly at roundabouts, people are just blocking them up now so any cyclists that might have used the lanes can't get through, and nobody can go anywhere.


Stupid idea with no consultation or trials, they just threw them up in early September when nobody is really cycling anymore and the weather is starting to turn. By the time the clocks change I doubt anyone will use them.

Those who commute by bike will continue to, but nobody else will.

It's like the increase in cycling after London 2012 and the British TDF wins, but it didn't last for long for most people.

All it has done is anger drivers, most of whom already have a natural disliking to cyclists for ignorance reasons (such as like riding side-by-side, which is safer for both cars and bikes)

[Bibbles]

Has anyone tried the ultra lightweight inner tubes that are around now. I just got a tubolito for my mtb to strap on my frame with a multi tool and a co2 canister for when I'm out and about and don't want to carry more gear. They're tiny and so lightweight I thought they'd be excellent for road bikes where you're always after a bit of weight saving. 24g rather than a normal tube at 100g. One in each wheel and the spare and you're 200g lighter than with normal tubes.

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by Bibbles

Has anyone tried the ultra lightweight inner tubes that are around now. I just got a tubolito for my mtb to strap on my frame with a multi tool and a co2 canister for when I'm out and about and don't want to carry more gear. They're tiny and so lightweight I thought they'd be excellent for road bikes where you're always after a bit of weight saving. 24g rather than a normal tube at 100g. One in each wheel and the spare and you're 200g lighter than with normal tubes.

When you weight 88kg, I don't think 200g really matters

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

When you weight 88kg, I don't think 200g really matters

After all that lovely Greek food and drink the other week...88?

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by mikeoz

After all that lovely Greek food and drink the other week...88?

I was 84 when I went out!

I did eat my own body weight in Pringles and I strongly supported the Greek beer industry.

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

I was 84 when I went out!

I did eat my own body weight in Pringles and I strongly supported the Greek beer industry.

Eat out to Help Out...

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by JayR328i

@Sennen hope he's ok and not too shaken up.

Yes he is fine thanks

He is talking about getting a Mountain Bike instead now.

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

When you weight 88kg, I don't think 200g really matters

Pfft 88k is nothing, try hauling 95k up hills

[JR1664]

A week of strong easterlies. I know on this occasion they're the result (or the cause ) of this warm weather from the continent but bloody hell they sap your soul

[JR1664]

Originally Posted by Sennen

It is great that people are getting active but I do wonder at the sense of 50 plus overweight men getting on a road bike with tiny section tyres when their last cycling experience was with a Raleigh Chopper.

Skittish as hell like a highly strung race horse, love it.

Then there's clipless, best your friend gives that a miss

[gangzoom]

Am having real problems deciding what my next bike spend should be, a nice high spec (Di 2 etc) used rim brake bike coming in a under 7kg, a new lower spec disk brake bike which is heavier than my 2011 road bike, or a totally different path of an eRoad bike to go along with my eHybrid bike.

Luckily am in no rush, and aside from eBay for used stuff there are zero new bikes in stock, even Riddle are quoting November for a new eBike order and Trek January 2021 for an eDomane.

Ofcourse what ever bike I get HAS to look almost identical to my current road bike.....wife wouldn't notice as long as the colour scheme is similar but my daughter is a curious little munchkin and keeps asking me why am looking at bike on my laptop at the kitchen table

[BBri89]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

wife wouldn't notice as long as the colour scheme is similar

Love an unobservant wifey.
Can get away with all sorts of new toys!


It took my missus 6 weeks to notice the (car) wheels had gone from silver to grey. She'd probably never notice if I replaced the whole car as long as it was still white. And I don't even think she knows what my bike looks like so I could probably easily get a new one again.

Just waiting for my work to start the Ride2Work scheme again, they've stopped it for the moment with COVID.

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

Am having real problems deciding what my next bike spend should be, a nice high spec (Di 2 etc) used rim brake bike coming in a under 7kg, a new lower spec disk brake bike which is heavier than my 2011 road bike, or a totally different path of an eRoad bike to go along with my eHybrid bike.

Luckily am in no rush, and aside from eBay for used stuff there are zero new bikes in stock, even Riddle are quoting November for a new eBike order and Trek January 2021 for an eDomane.

Ofcourse what ever bike I get HAS to look almost identical to my current road bike.....wife wouldn't notice as long as the colour scheme is similar but my daughter is a curious little munchkin and keeps asking me why am looking at bike on my laptop at the kitchen table

Go all in for the fast bike 👍🏻

[Bibbles]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

Am having real problems deciding what my next bike spend should be, a nice high spec (Di 2 etc) used rim brake bike coming in a under 7kg, a new lower spec disk brake bike which is heavier than my 2011 road bike, or a totally different path of an eRoad bike to go along with my eHybrid bike.

Luckily am in no rush, and aside from eBay for used stuff there are zero new bikes in stock, even Riddle are quoting November for a new eBike order and Trek January 2021 for an eDomane.

Ofcourse what ever bike I get HAS to look almost identical to my current road bike.....wife wouldn't notice as long as the colour scheme is similar but my daughter is a curious little munchkin and keeps asking me why am looking at bike on my laptop at the kitchen table

Always have a tab open on islabikes so you can flick to that when your kids come along and they can enjoy looking at some nice bikes as well.

[JR1664]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

Am having real problems deciding what my next bike spend should be, a nice high spec (Di 2 etc) used rim brake bike coming in a under 7kg, a new lower spec disk brake bike which is heavier than my 2011 road bike, or a totally different path of an eRoad bike to go along with my eHybrid bike.

Luckily am in no rush, and aside from eBay for used stuff there are zero new bikes in stock, even Riddle are quoting November for a new eBike order and Trek January 2021 for an eDomane.

Ofcourse what ever bike I get HAS to look almost identical to my current road bike.....wife wouldn't notice as long as the colour scheme is similar but my daughter is a curious little munchkin and keeps asking me why am looking at bike on my laptop at the kitchen table

The best part is looking From what I've read of your posts you would love an e road bike but try explaining to the good lady why you've had to suddenly start plugging the road bike in

Go for what you really want. Personally I'd also keep the old Trek if you can wing having three .You may get into Zwift (some of the smart trainers now look brilliant) it would be an ideal spare should the e bike have a mechanical and of course it could be the winter bike if you wanted to keep the Domain out of the muck and salt.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by JR1664

Go for what you really want. Personally I'd also keep the old Trek if you can wing having three.

That's what I really want, I do love how my Trek rides, came to work on it today after spending a few the last few days on the eBike. The steering is much quicker, climbing out of the saddle is actually fun (till your legs start hurting), and overall its a totally more focused ride, rather than the eBike which is just about going quickly even when carrying all my work stuff/change of cloth + a few D locks.

Its a bit my current car, its a fantastic day to day/family wagon, but when the weather is right, and roads really quite + not needing to carry family around I do wish I kept my old DC2 Teg around in the garage!!

Need to keep on sitting on my hands, the weathers turning anyways so now really isn't the time to get a new road bike.....But I can keep on looking .

[strike4A]

Originally Posted by strike4A

New bike day, took delivery of my new commuter steed. A BMC Alpenchallenge 01 Four. Been out for a few miles shakedown and it feels nice and quick. Single 40T chainring up front and 11-42T cassette (SRAM Apex1). Should be plenty for my needs. Bike weighs 10.06kg.

So a few months in with the bike and thought would update... Loving it so far, it really is ideal for my 25km round trip commute. I changed the stem round to have a negative angle for a more aggressive look but still comfortable. Added lights, grippy MTB pedals and bottle cages. Longest weekend ride about 50km or so mainly down to Richmond Park for 3 laps and back home. The spacing between the gears is a little wider than I'd like but given most of my use is on relatively flat roads then it's only a minor gripe.

However, the weekend rides have fully planted the seed and I'm now working out how much is acceptable to spend on a road bike. I'm glad I didn't get a road bike straight away as I wouldn't want to commute on that but the calculator is out... Watching nearly all the Tour de France hasn't helped either!